Car-wheel



(Nomuael.) ,i i J.. E; ATWOOD & G. W. SWETT.

Car Wheel*l No. 242,858. Patented .lune 14, |881.

UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.JAMES E. ATWOOD AND GEORGE W. SWETT, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,858, dated June 14, 1881.

Application tiled May 2, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom itmag/ concern:

Beit known that we, J AMES E. A'rWooD and GEORGE W. SWETT, both citizens of the United States, residing at Troy,in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvemen ts in Oar- Wheels, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to certain improvements iu that class of car-Wheels'iu which the tread, web, and hub are of cast metal in a single piece. Y

The object of our invention is to provide acarwheel which will possess the lightness so desirable in what are known as paper wheelsthat is, a car-wheel composed of a compressed paper or paper-pulp body and a separate metallic tire. These car-wheels are very objectionable, because the paper is affected by moisture and soon becomes disintegrated, and there-y fore useless but owing to Atheir light and com pact nature they would be exceedingly desirable if they were capable of practical use.

In our invention we embody the desirable features ot' lightness and compactness, while We provide a metallic car-wheel capable of withstanding excessive strains and the wear to which they are necessarily subjected.

Our invention is-clearly illustrated in the structure represented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a central sectional view of acar-wheel constructed according to our invention, and Fig. 2 detached perspective views of the parts composing the wheel.

The letter A indicates the web of the wheel,

having straight or plane inner and outer surfaces, and formed at its periphery into the tread B and dan ge C, and at its center into a laterally-projecting hub, D, having the usual aperture, E, for the journal of the car-axle.

The hub, tread, and ange are all arranged at one side of the plane web, and thereby provide an interior unobstructed space between the outer surface ot' the hub and the inner surface of the tread. The inner surface'of the tread is recessed to form an annular seat, F, terminating in a square shoulder, G, and to this seat is snugly iitted an annular ring or cap-plate, H, havin gacentral annular passage, H', through `which the hub D projects. This ring or cap-plate is secured in position against the shoulder G by means of the transverse bolts I and suitable'retaining-nuts, and with the ring or cap-plate in position there still remains the annular unobstructed space within, whereby the lightness of the wheel is rendered possible, because the parts can be cast comparatively light or thin, while all parts of the structure are uniformly braced and sustained. The edges of the opening H in the ring or plate H rest iirmly upon an annular contracted seat, J, formed at the outer portion of the hub, such contracted seat forming an annular shoulder, K, against which the inner margin of the ring or cap-plate abuts and is sustained against inward compression or displacement. The periphery ofthe ring or capplate rests against the seat F formed on the inner surface of the wheel, and the annular shoulder G serves as an abutment, against which the outer margin of the ring or capplate abuts and is prevented from inward compression or displacement. It will be observed that owing to thelstructure composing the wheel every part acts as a strut or brace to the other, reuderin g it practicableto make the web with plane surfaces and comparatively thin, and the interior constituting a free and unobstructed space, thereby securing the advantages of lightness and compactness, and producing a car-wheel which can be employed as a substitute for a paper car-wheel, while it avoids the objections to the latter.

We are, ofcourse, aware that a car-wheel has been cast in a single piece with arcuri-'ed web, a hub, and a flanged tread; but such, broadly, we do not claim.

What we claim is- A car-wheel formed integral with a plane web, a laterally-projecting hub, and a flanged treading-surface having on its inner surface an annular shouldered seat, ou which is secured a ring or cap-plate, substan tialiy as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES E. ATWOOD. GEO. W. SWETT.

Witnesses to the signature of James E. Atwood:

ALBERT H. NORRIS,

J AMES A. RUTHERFORD. Witnesses to the signature of George W. Swett:

GHARLEs D. KELLUM,

EUGENE L. PELTIER. 

